Did you ever think about what would happen if you had to go to the hospital? How can you be sure you will be able to understand critical communication from your doctor and nurses? The solution is to be prepared ahead of time! Several HLAA groups have created Hospital Communication Kits. They include signs you can post above your bed, stickers you can post on your medical chart, a “Please Face Me” pin, and more.

I was just browsing there and came across “The Droids are Coming!” by Perry Hanavan. Very informative presentation about smart phones and various apps you can get including: hearing tests, amplifiers, telephone captioning, and more. I just downloaded “Sound Hound” for free on my iPhone. Having trouble hearing the lyrics of your favorite songs? Sound Hound will “listen” to the song, identify the name of the song, and give you the lyrics! I’m looking forward to trying it out!

Another favorite activity of mine at the HLAA Convention was walking around the exhibition hall. There were about 60 exhibitors with devices, information and services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. One of my favorites was “Hayleigh’s Cherished Charms.”

What a creative, young entrepreneur! 12 year old Hayleigh has created a line of jewelry for hearing aids. On her website (Yes, she has a website!) she says: ” When I was little and attended a school for hard of hearing and deaf children I noticed that a lot of kids tried to hide their hearing aids behind their hair. I wanted to make my hearing aids shine and be fancy and proud of my hearing aids.” Gotta love it! Check out her website at: www.hayleighscherishedcharms.com

I just got a CaptionCall telephone! I love it! It has a large, easy to read, touch screen, there is no 800 number needed and the captioning is very fast! If you have voicemail, it will play and caption your messages. If you have an answer machine, you can play your messages into the receiver and and they will be captioned. All you need for this phone to work is a high speed internet connection.

The retail price is $149.00 but they are now selling for $99.00. If you are a member of a Hearing Loss Association Chapter, CaptionCall will sell you the phone for $50 and make a $50 dollar donation to your HLAA Chapter. You can get more information at their website: www.captioncall.com.